So, is it time to start thinking about the newest member of the Career Grand Slam club? I'm talking of course about Maria Sharapova, who's kept up the level she hit in Rome thus far at Roland Garros. And who is there out there with the game and, more important, the heart to take on Sharapova at her best and orneriest? We were reminded in the last big event before Roland Garros of what 'Pova can do on clay.
Still, Svetlana Kuznetsova is suddenly playing quality tennis again. And it's become crystal clear that Francesca Schiavone hasn't exactly been quaking in her boots at the prospect of defending her title, even though we had every reason to suspect she might. It's been obvious for weeks that this French Open would be more competitive than any we've seen in some years, but I doubt Sharapova would have been high on anyone's list of likely contenders.
This isn't a terrible draw for Sharapova. Among the seeds, No. 2 Kim Clijsters, whom Sharapova would meet in the quarters, appears to be her major potential stumbling block. Today Sharapova goes up against French wild card Caroline Garcia (no relation to Jerry), about whom we know little enough not to go making any brash predictions.
Vania King of the U.S. also has a good shot at making the third round; she goes up against Elena Baltacha of Great Britain, and so does her countrywoman Jill Craybas, who's going to be 37 come the fourth of July and seems bent on going where few gone before—in the footsteps of Kimiko Date-Krumm. The match with the most entertainment potential may be the all-Gallic battle between Gilles Simon and Jeremy Chardy.
- Pete**